While CES 2009 has brought us legions of 7 millimeter thick flat screen televisions, DLP rear projection televisions are still a predominant force in driving the high definition television market. Firmly committed to manufacturing rear-projection televisions, Mitsubishi continues to release new models of the DLP HDTV’s. Within their newest Diamond series line, they offer 65” and 73” sizes. The obvious advantage to going the DLP route is purchasing more screen space for less money out of pocket.

Mitsubishi’s Diamond 835 (WD-65835) is a touch under 75 pounds and is actually quite manageable for its weight. The cabinet depth is slightly over 15 inches and the casing around the screen is surprisingly thin for a television of this size. The height of the TV falls just under 40 inches and the width clocks in at 58 inches. This 1080p DLP has a MSRP of $2999.99, but can be found through online and local retailers for approximately $2500. It’s definitely on the higher end of the DLP pricing spectrum, but the feature set offsets the price difference. Different from their regular line, the Diamond series also features a sleek, hi-gloss bezel design and a blue lighting accent underneath the screen.

Set-up

I was quite surprised at the fantastic contrast level when first powering up the WD-65835. It’s absolutely deep for DLP technology and challenges many LCD screens I’ve viewed as of late. Mitsubishi calls it their Dark detailer technology. After launching into the menu, I tested out the three picture modes under different types of lighting. I preferred Brilliant for a room filled with natural sunlight and would be useful when viewing sporting events. Natural feels more apt for dark rooms when watching a feature length movie. Bright is a combination of the two, but I found myself leaning to either extreme in most viewing scenarios. Each of the picture modes is adjustable for each specific input.

The color temperature seems more appropriate at Low as opposed to High as the picture is more realistic. I tweaked the contrast setting to about 60, brightness 45 and left color / tint / sharpness alone. I did dive into modifying the PerfectColor and PerfectTint features to modify the hue / saturation of the 6-color palette. Using a color calibration DVD, you can get fairly accurate results with the color adjustments.

I never been a fan of their Sharpedge technology. It is supposed to enhance the sharpness on the horizontal and vertical edges of the screen. The picture appeared overly abrasive when turned on. The Smooth120Hz mode has improved since I tested it last. It’s included to create smoother, fluid motion when viewing content. It doesn’t excel at ridding the viewing experience completely of motion blur, but it does improve motion performance overall. The advance in quality is likely due to ditching the use of frame interpolation in the process.

The back panel of the WD-65835 has a plethora of inputs including three HDMI ports, two component video, two S-Video / Composite video, two RF jacks for QAM / ATSC / NTSC and a stereo DVI / PC audio input. There is also an HDMI input, component / composite input and a USB input on the front of the television. You can plug a digital device, such as a digital camera, to the USB port to view pictures. That’s a fairly standard inclusion on a new HDTV. The rear panel also includes outputs for coaxial digital audio, composite for recording A/V, an IR emitter port, a RS-232 port and a connection for 3D glasses. 3D glasses were such a huge draw at CES that we actually be getting to a point where that port will come in handy. The port attaches to a set of glasses that have been synced to the 3D content on the screen. As far as design goes, it can be slightly cramped when trying to connect multiple component cables.